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OHSAA no longer picking up tab to send athletes to state

State participants for 13 individual sports whose championships lost money not getting stipend.

State tournaments cost plenty, earn big in Ohio

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By Kyle Nagel, Staff Writer Updated 1:28 AM Sunday, May 30, 2010

Five area high schools sent boys tennis players to the state tournament in Columbus this weekend.

At the same time, many local high schools qualified athletes for next weekend’s state track and field meet, also in Columbus.

And, for the first time in recent memory, the schools will pick up the entire bills for those athletes to stay in hotels and eat while they chase state championships.

Last summer, the Ohio High School Athletic Association decided it would no longer pay schools a daily stipend for athletes who qualified for state competition in 13 individual sports whose state tournaments annually lost money.

Tennis and track are two of those sports, which means local athletic directors sending athletes to those events take a bigger bite out of their budgets.

“We have a doubles team that starts at 8 o’clock Friday morning, so we have to put them there for an extra day at a hotel on Thursday night,” Springboro Athletic Director Troy Holtrey said last week about doubles players Michael O’Gara and Phillip Gruber.

“We want to make it as positive of an experience as we can, but we have a budget just like anyone else.”

The OHSAA said it closely watches revenues from its state championships, which bring in more than $15 million per year. But this year, the state cut about $255,000 from its $11 million in expenses with the mandate that certain individual athletes and coaches pay their own bills.

Previously, schools received between $12 and $54.50 per day for those athletes and coaches, depending on how far they traveled.

“We pay attention to what we’re doing financially, just like any organization,” said Dan Ross, the OHSAA commissioner. “We’re not immune to changes, but our main goal is to make the experience as memorable as possible for the athletes.”

Contact this reporter at (937) 225-7389 or knagel@DaytonDailyNews.com.

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